建国六十周年英文演讲稿

2008 NATIONAL DAY MESSAGE TO ALL SCHOOLS， JUNIOR COLLEGES AND CENTRALISED INSTITUTES

Principal， teachers and students

INTRODUCTION

1. Tomorrow， we celebrate our 38th year of independence. 38 years is a short history for any country. But we have come a long way. 38 years ago， we were a poor country trying to create as many jobs as we could to feed our people. There was no Changi Airport， no multinational corporations or financial centre， no defence capability of our own. Only 60% of our people were literate. Only 11% of our students progressed beyond secondary school. Few people thought we could succeed， or even survive. But we overcame the odds. By working hard， finding our own solutions and tying our futures together as a people， we transformed Singapore into what it is today.

2. We now face renewed challenges as a nation. Terrorism is a real and continuing threat. Our economy has also been hit by the global economic slowdown， and mor